Friday, November 26, 2010

Fibers on Friday: Afghans for Afghans Sweater






It might not be the best week for a linky party, but I'm gonna post anyway. I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones. I hope you were able to take a breather amongst the chaos and give thanks for the messy kitchen, the loud kids, the not-so easy-to handle family member, and the gravy that just wouldn't thicken.

I have been busy all week with cooking and working on a special furniture refinishing project! No pics yet, but come next week, you'll be inundated with pictures of what I've been up to! I've got a couple Meatless Monday posts lined up to get us ready for Christmas! Oh yes, Cranberry Chutney and Sweet Potato Casserole.

Last weekend a few girlfriends and I rented a beach house to get away and scrapbook and craft all weekend. It was so wonderful! It was full of creativity, wine, great food, laughter, music, and a couple of great one-liners!

I found myself sighing....out loud.... a lot! It came to the attention of my friends, who laughed at me every time I did it. I concluded that I have "Craft Apnea" a condition whereby I stop breathing while engaged in heavy crafting. One witty friend diagnosed it as "Crapnea". We got a kick outta that one all weekend. Despite lack of oxygen, I managed to pound out at least 12 layouts....maybe I'll post them next week, too.

In knitting news, I frogged the hat I showed you last week. Thanks for your support and insight as to what may have occurred with the bulky parts of the yarn. As I was reading through ravelry yesterday I saw someone mention using a variegated yarn and using two skeins and alternating rows to avoid "pooling". Ahhhhh! What a good idea! Another learning moment and another one-liner from the weekend:

If I'm not learning', I'm burnin'

Oh yes, clever.

The sweater I'm knitting for Afghans for Afghans is called The Steppe Ahead sweater. I'm using yarn from my stash that was given to me by my aunt who currently lives in Hawaii and finds no need to knit sweaters in her climate. Bonus for me! It's Ram's Wool Superwash in a teal color. I'm really loving it so far. I'm linking this up to a new party called Work in Progress Wednesday. Come check it out!

To read more about the cause and the current campaign please visit their site:



10 comments:

  1. I've been sewing a lot lately, so no yarn projects to show this week. However I wanted to give you two ideas for meatless Monday (I'm a vegetarian). One is Depression era veggie burger aka what my husband calls yummy cakes. You take the veggie protein that comes in a long tube (for making fake meat balls out of), and you mix some crushed oyster crackers and seasoning into it. Then you form your patties and cook them in a skillet. I like to cook onions and mushrooms in a separate pan to add on top of the veggie burgers. Add whatever you normally would to your veggie burgers. I call them Depression era veggie burgers, because my grandma would add the crackers to her ground beef so ass to make a little bit go further.

    Another thing is what I call noodle casserole. Boil some potatoes for about an hour or until cooked. Cook elbow macaroni and a can of corn in a pot, and cook some tofu in a skillet (I like the pre-cooked kind that is available in many different flavors). When finished, cut the tofu and potatoes into smaller pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a casserole dish, lay some shredded cheese on the bottom. Next add all of your cooked ingredients while adding more shredded cheese in one or two layers. Cover the top with cheese. Pour some heavy whipping cream over the whole thing. Cook for 30 minutes to an hour. This is my family's favorite dish. It is actually better reheated, which is a nice bonus.

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  2. Hello! Happy Holidays!

    I just wanted to let you know that Zibeline Knits is having a sock yarn sale. Now through Christmas, all hand dyed sock yarns are on sale, and if you use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY15, you will get an extra 15% off of your total order.

    Yarn Love to you,

    Keya

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  3. If ya got 'em, smoke 'em! What a great weekend!

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  4. I have NO excuse expect forgetfulness. I have a hat on the go and it's half done. Geepers me bad!

    So jealous about your scrapbookign weekend.

    Tonight I am having a few ladies over for a crochet night. I have been wanting to learn and everyone says it is so much faster for hats and stuff. Glad I know how to knit but just don't have the time right now.

    I want to see those layouts!

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  5. craft apneia - hilarous! Sounds like you have been having fun. Love the start of your sweater.

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  6. So jealous of your craft weekend! Can't wait to see pictures of your furniture project. I am hoping to repaint some hand me downs of my own. Nice start on your sweater. I don't know how you find the energy to do so much! I wish you could bottle it up and send it my way!

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  7. I don't mind if you use those recipes for your Meatless Mondays (thats why I posted them). My kids prefer the casserole without the tofu. However I was only cooking that the other night, so I wanted a protein in it.

    It is nice to have hectic family holidays to :)

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  8. Just wanted to say welcome to WIPW! How fun to have a whole weekend to craft with the girls. Sounds amazing. Cheers!

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  9. hello! thanks for inviting me here :)

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  10. Wow, what a weekend! Sounds like a blast!

    The sweater is starting out great. I don't know the yarn, but it looks fabulous. I guess you don't need much wool in Hawaii.

    Thanks again for posting a link and participating in WIPW!

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