KnittinG Club Awards

I am happy to announce our very first two Knitting Club Awards... TA-TA-TA-TAAAAAAA

YOUNGEST MEMBER TO HAVE FINISHED A PROJECT:

This Award is proudly presented to Andrea. She finished her first knitted hat, pom-pons and all.Congratulations Baby Girl!

HIGHEST NUMBER OF UNFINISHED PROJECTS:

This award is presented to Edith. Although Edith is a highly accomplished crochetier, and the official crochet teacher of the Knitting Club, she ended up winning this award for the most number of unfinished projects of us all.

She brought in her infamous project cooler in which she lovingly preserves her numerous unfinished projects. Congratulations Edith!

More Finished Projects

Thursday night at Shaynes was a great success. Armed with my camera I managed to take some pictures of the most recent finished projects of the Knitting Club.

Mery brought her freshly finished knitted hat and matching scarf:

Edith brought tons of amazing crochet jewelry necklaces:

Patty's Slippers

I have been wanting to make these for the longest time. I first saw these slippers on etsy from French Press Knits and thought they would be just perfect for my friend Patty. I then realized that Melynda from French Press Knits was also selling the pattern, so I purchased it immediately and one day later, the slippers were ready to wear. They are soft and really comfortable. They look great in every color (check them out here) . I Used less than 3 balls of Pattons Classic Wool in dark grey. The pattern calls for Size 10 mm needles and 3 strands of yarn which made it really fast and easy to knit. I think I spent more time on trying to decide what buttons to buy than actually knitting the slippers. Happy birthday Patita!

A sweater T.

I asked my mom to knit me a cute sweater and after several hours of flipping through knitting magazines and books at Passion Knit looking for a style that I would like, I finally found the perfect fit! I loved this design found in Tweedie Chunky- Sirdar Book #340. Six yarn balls of Tweedy-Chunky #280- 'Buckwheat' PLUS several hours of hard work, ADD talent and dedication, ADD a few drops of love = The 'Cabled Tank With Polo Neck'. This is the perfect piece for fall, winter and even spring. Cozy and comfortable, it can be worn on its own during the warmer days of spring or layered over a long sleeve blouse during the cool days of fall. Match it with a cute knit barrett, a pair of dark jeans and trendy leather boots and voilá! You got your self a head turning outfit for the season. I can't wait to wear my new sweater to dinner tonight! Thanks mama and congratulations on another finished project of the knitting club.

Toodles

-Odette (la fille de knitting bird)

Flower Crochet Sandals

I know the summer is over now, but I thought these are some cool crochet sandals we can all aspire to make. Being a crochet beginner I can surely tell you that making crochet flowers is not at all difficult. The difficult part here would be, first of to find some inexpensive (or not) plain sandals that we can decorate...and then to find a way t attach the flowers to them so that the would look good and not move or fall at all, perhaps just wrapping the yarn around the straps would do. Creations by Eve (the designer of these cool sandals) sells them on etsy for aprox $30-42 us Dollars, she lives in Greece and shipping is obviously not included! My next project just might be to run out to kengsinton market and find myself some simple leather sandals to revamp.

Crochet Inspiration (In honor of Edith-my crochet teacher)

This is how it works for me: It is not so much that I like the actual knitting, drawing, cooking, or making anything for that matter, but the fact of the actual "high" that I get when I see something that inspires me and I want to create. I get a sudden need to make that something at that very second, and that is the motor that urges me to learn to do all things I know. Don't get me wrong, I do love the process, but the inspiration is what drives me the most. I stumbled upon this designer and fell in love with her ideas. Although I know little about crocheting, I now want to learn more. These hats are cool, cute and funky, and I really want to make one. Unfortunately she does not sell patterns but the actual items... and as you already know : I LIKE TO MAKE THINGS. These are great ideas and the colors she uses could serve us as inspiration for any knitting or crochet pattern. She goes by the name of Sparkleberry Crafts and sells her stuff on etsy.

Her hats are lovely and I don't think they are expensive at all. It will probably end up being more expensive to to make one than to buy one already made. But the pleasure and the satisfaction that you get when creating, making and crafting something with your own hands is priceless! (even if it turns out as a hanukkah stocking)

It's All About Presentation

You don't have to be a graphic designer to realize how much importance is given to the way things look in order for us to buy them, eat them or appreciate them . Last week it was my daughter Andrea's B-Day, she absolutely loves Godiva chocolates. I decided to goto Fairview Mall and buy her a gift card so she can buy those ridiculously expensive chocolate covered strawberries as a treat instead of having to beg me when we go to the mall.

They didn't have any gift cards so I opted for buying her a cute little box with a single chocolate in shape of a cake instead. It was not until I paid the bill that I realized that the one tiny single chocolate was ...uh I think about 7 dollars! Yikes! oh well, the lady had packed it already with a couple of more things that I had bought and so I felt bad returning it, and plus, I knew she was going to like it.

Her birthday came, we gave her all her presents, and the small birthday cake chocolate which was elegantly packed in a box that was probably worth more than the actual chocolate. When she opened the box she was absolutely delighted, she took the chocolate into her mouth and asked me to take a picture. She ate that single tiny chocolate in about 6 bites! and she savored each and every one of them. It was then I realized that the friggen chocolate was oh so worth buying. This is why, my friends, I thought of writing about the importance of how we present things. Andrea is a lousy eater, but... she will eat anything that I give to her in a "princess" (as she calls it) presentation. And the truth is that she is not the only one. We all like things better when they are presented nicely to us. We will even buy a tomato sauce that we have not tried yet, just because we liked the packaging.

So here I present to you some gift wrapping inspirations. What I like about these is that they are not expensive, some of them use simple brown paper and a marker, newspaper, buttons, fresh flowers and even pattern tissue paper. Go ahead and wrap with imagination and throw in some love while you are at it.

Knitting Light

I wish I would have thought of this one, but I didn't. Ilotlove did and called it Matt.

I think this design concept is fantastic!

The first thing I thought when Nathan showed me these pictures was : Doesn't the yarn burn with the heat of the light bulb?...the answer is NO. This hanging light is designed with a 12 meter cable, is meant to be moved and played with. It uses an environmentally-friendly energy-saving bulb (Lola will love this one), the light emits no heat thus is safe to hang and integrate into your home.

Although Matt seems to be machine knitted, I don't see why it could not be done by hand and even use thicker yarn for a funkier look. I am not sure I will venture onto making one for my home, but I will definitely keep this idea in mind for a future project. Who said light can't be knitted? Hope it serves you as an inspiration as well.

Mystical Pomegranate

Pomegranate season is here! ... It's been a couple of weeks since I started seeing pomegranates appear in the supermarket and it reminds me that Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner.

In the past, I never really paid much attention to this fruit. Removing the seeds seemed somewhat of a laborious task, and I only eat some once a year during the high holidays. It is only recently that I learned to appreciate Pomegranates and started using them in various dishes all year around. This mystical and exotic fruits' popularity has been growing significantly due to its high antioxidant content and related health benefits. The Pomegranate has long be heralded as one of the great healing fruits in many regions and belief systems. In Rosh Hashanah we eat pomegranates as a symbol of abundant goodness. Jewish tradition holds that a pomegranate has 613 seeds, representing the 613 mitzvot that we are supposed to keep. We eat pomegranates as a symbolic gesture in the hope that our merits will increase like the seeds of a pomegranate.

Although there is no doubt that it would not hurt to earn a few merits for my spiritual growth, I like Pomegranates not only because they are tangy, sweet and delicious but also because the ruby-red jem-like seeds makes all kinds of dishes look beautiful and flamboyant. No question about it... pomegranate is one of my favorite foods.

GREEN OLIVE, WALNUT, PISTACHIO AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

On my endless search for interesting and exotic edible ideas, I found this incredible recipe that contains some of my favorite ingredients: Pistachios and Pomegranate. (From "Turquoise" by Greg and Lucy Malouf)

• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives, washed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 small shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red serrano chile, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tablespoon shredded flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil
• -- Splash of pomegranate molasses
• -- Juice of 1/2 lemon
• -- Sea salt
• -- Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°. Scatter the walnuts onto a jelly-roll pan and roast for 5-10 minutes until a deep golden brown. Pour the nuts into a tea towel and rub well to remove as much skin as possible. Chop the walnuts coarsely and toss in a sieve to remove any remaining skin and dust.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Leave to stand for 5 minutes or so before serving, to allow the flavors to meld.

Knitting for Mona

Lola finished her bag in time to take it to Mona. Not only that, but she took her knitting fever to London and had her niece knitting as well. Checo sent the long awaited pics for me to post on the Knitting Club.

Welcome home comadre and congratulations on this your first finished project!