Week 15: Pom Pom Hat

Posted on April 14, 2011 by elizabeth

I have been planning to make this hat for Thea’s birthday for a while, and then had to keep it a secret until I knew the package had made its way into her (parents’) hands. I used another pattern from the Inner Hooker etsy shop, and it was an interesting twist on a hat, simply because it isn’t started in the round because it’s, you know, a rectangle.

Again, I made the 3-6 month size (with a few extra rows of each color at the bottom), perhaps knowing that it’s not exactly hat time of the year, but I think it turned out pretty adorable. Even though I don’t get along very well with pom poms, stupid “easy” pom pom maker be damned. (Also, why are they referred to as pom pons when everyone says pom poms? Is everyone wrong? Is it like how everyone pronounces “sherbet” wrong?)

Week 14: Lemony Spring Risotto

Posted on April 5, 2011 by elizabeth

The food supply situation in my apartment reached danger levels over the weekend (no jelly! no string cheese! one more slice of bread! no cranberry juice!), so I used the trip to the grocery story as motivation to actually cook something new, which I haven’t done in a while. I have been wanting to make this recipe found on the Weight Watchers site recently, because I haven’t yet cooked every type of risotto that exists. The recipe had all sorts of tasty-sounding ingredients: asparagus, peas, and lemon. It may not feel like spring outside, but I can force spring in my kitchen.

I only modified the recipe a bit – mostly by adding way more vegetables than they said to use. (I used about a pound and a half of frozen cut asparagus, because the fresh stuff at not-my-usual grocery store looked so sad, and a whole package of frozen peas, rather than a measly cup.) My only complaint about this recipe is due to my own error – it was a bit TOO lemony, but that’s because I went a little overboard when zesting the lemon and didn’t measure what I ended up with; it was most certainly more than the teaspoon that was called for.

But these? These are some leftovers I will look forward to eating (as opposed to that potato stew which is still in my freezer, making me feel guilty).

Week 13: Kickstart

Posted on April 3, 2011 by elizabeth

Back when I came up with this whole Handmade52 project idea, I intended to make myself create something (food or otherwise) each week. I gave myself the option of taking a photo as a backup in a week when I needed some help, or got busy, but the truth is that I never really intended to let a photo count. I didn’t really realize how I’d be feeling about life this winter, though, and while having the project to force me to be more crafty and to cook more has been a lifesaver, in the past few weeks I just haven’t been feeling it. I haven’t taken any photos, nor have I felt like it, I haven’t been as jazzed about crocheting or knitting, and my schedule has been so nutty that I haven’t been home many evenings to cook. It was starting to feel like work, and that was not something I was happy about at all. (Because giving up is allowed, but I really just don’t want to.)

The good news is that I found some inspiration for knitting and crochet projects in the past few days (wait until you see what I finished on Friday!), and I actually took photos that I’m happy about three days in a row. I suppose in a way that returning to such overdone subjects (bokeh and the Asbury Park boardwalk) might be too obvious, but I’ve been in such a creativity rut lately that perhaps I needed to ease back into things with something obvious. And the extra side bonus? “Revisiting something you’ve photographed more than three times” is an item on the Super Mega Exciting Radical Scavenger Hunt, which I have been meaning to start for three months now.

So things are feeling a little better, and that’s emphatically a good thing.

Week 12: Not a Success

Posted on March 23, 2011 by elizabeth

I have been wanting to make these cabled mitts from Crochet Today ever since Erin posted about them a few months ago. And once I got past a few days of being completely disinterested in crafts at all last week, I started on these. I was a bit nervous, just because these included a few crochet skills that I haven’t ever used (the cabling, and crocheting only in the back loops) but everything seemed to be going okay at first. But as I was working on them last night, I had to admit that something had gone wrong somewhere, and I’m still not sure what it was. It’s especially frustrating, because as far as I can tell, the cables (the part I was most worried about) seem fine. This is supposed to be the left, but it’s clearly the right, and there’s no way it’s big enough (I stopped with only a few rows to go in the pattern) to wrap around my wrist. I figure I’ll have to start these from the beginning, either with different yarn or a bigger hook. Sigh.

Week 11: Tomato and Sausage Risotto

Posted on March 20, 2011 by elizabeth

I had a few days off in the middle of the week this week, and spent them perfecting my relaxation skills. (Translation: I sat on the couch and read two and a half books while Dan played video games. And it was awesome.) However, I wanted to cook for Dan again, both because he was on his third full week out of work after eye surgery, and because I didn’t have any bright ideas for Handmade52 this week. This particular risotto recipe has been at the very top of my food obsessions list (well, food that I make, and that list also includes chili and huevos rancheros), but I haven’t made it in quite a while, and I haven’t ever made it for Dan. Dan doesn’t do cheese, period, so I had to adjust this recipe so he would eat it. (Before you ask, yes, he would be able to taste and object to even a small amount of shredded parmesan cheese baked into something.) Basically, I added a bit more wine, salt, and butter, and omitted the cheese entirely. And really? I didn’t taste the difference. And Dan went back for seconds, so I’d say this was a success.

Week 10: Super Giant Cowl

Posted on March 9, 2011 by elizabeth

Lately I have been making a lot of things for others (joyfully, because there is a limit to how many knitted/crocheted things one can make for oneself), and since I didn’t have any gifts lined up, I decided it was time to make something for myself. And I also really wanted to go back to knitting for a while, since I have been back on the crochet bandwagon in the past few months. I wear the hell out of my two (store bought) infinity scarves/cowls, just because of how nicely they drape, and found this pattern on ravelry and figured it was time to actually make one for myself. Plus, this one is chunky and oversized, which is exactly what I was looking for.

I suppose I should tell my perfectionist side to ease down a bit, considering the fact that this is still only the 5th thing I have ever knitted, but… you know how it goes. I think one of my biggest frustrations so far with knitting (as opposed to crochet) is that I really don’t know how to fix my mistakes, or even figure out what the mistake was. The first time I cast on, I twisted the stitches when I joined in the round, which would have made a nice purposeful mobius-ish twist, but was really not my intention for this cowl. So I started over. And then somewhere along the way (four skeins in), I dropped a stitch or skipped a stitch, because there was a mysterious button-type hole, and then later I mixed up my knits and purls and I just don’t know what happened, but I don’t like how it looks. And more than anything, I was so jazzed for knitting near perfect seed stitch for, like, 12 inches, and THEN making mistakes and making it look worse by trying to fix it.

Either way, I ADORE seed stitch, and bulky yarn, and will probably make another one of these in another color. Or maybe I’ll crochet a bulky cowl, just for variety. (I know my sister wants one of these already, so regardless, I’ll be making it again!)

Week Nine: Chili

Posted on March 7, 2011 by elizabeth

While this week’s Handmade52 project isn’t something new to me, it was a special request, and something that I haven’t made since August (really?!) (sidenote: having now been posting regularly on flickr since the fall of 2006, it sure does make looking back in time for tidbits like “when did I last make chili?” much easier!).

This recipe originally came from my friends at IBP manor, and I first made it myself in 2008. I made it on Friday night because Dan asked me specially to make it for him… and since he’d had unexpected and intense eye surgery on Monday (for a torn and detached retina… if you start seeing things floating in your vision that weren’t there before, go to the eye doctor, for real) and has spent the week recovering, I was obviously more than happy to do whatever he asked. (Turns out? It’s really freaking difficult when someone you love goes through something like this and you’re an hour away and can’t do much to help. He’s doing better now, but the recovery process isn’t quick, and he’s been pretty uncomfortable. Playing video games by now, but still, not a happy camper. Also: eye surgery is GROSS and one’s eye after eye surgery? GROSS.)

Anyway! I made chili and a double batch of corn bread and it tasted better than I remember. (I made it spicier than I would normally for Dan, and I liked it more than I expected to.) Here’s my version of the recipe, just for my own records.

IPB Chili, ET Style

Makes about six servings
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 bell peppers
1 habanero pepper (I used a little less than 2 on Friday)
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 pounds ground turkey
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 bottle of dark beer
3 15 oz cans of beans (I use kidney, light kidney, and black)
cilantro

Start by cooking the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and hot peppers in a few tablespoons of oil. Once things start to soften, stir in cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for a minute or two, then add in ground turkey. Stir regularly while the turkey browns to make sure it’s cooking evenly. Once the turkey is evenly cooked, stir in diced tomatoes and a half a bottle of beer. Let that come to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or so. Once the flavors have all combined, stir in the beans (drained and rinsed), and a handful of chopped cilantro. Heat until the beans are hot. Top with grated cheddar, unless you are a cheese-hater.

Week Eight: Linoleum Prints

Posted on February 23, 2011 by elizabeth

This particular crafty adventure has been in the works since way back in December when I revealed my linoleum-printed holiday cards. Pookie and Schnookie and I have been joking for a while about trying lots of new things until we stumble upon what will lead us to internet crafty millionaire-dom. They’ve been pondering all sorts of things and I love papercrafts, and we decided to plan a Craft Spectacular Day to start from the beginning and try linoleum printing together.

We settled on Presidents Day, because all three of us had off for the long weekend. We spent a while browsing online for supplies, and each of us bought a few linoleum blocks, a carving tool set, a roller, and some paint. I supplied the endless paper (I used this event as an excuse to buy a pound of scraps at the craft store last week, and boy was THAT a treat) and pencils and tracing paper.

The only hitch in the plan that day was that there was some sort of water main break at my apartment complex, so I hadn’t had water since the late morning. But we figured it would be back in a few hours and got started anyway.

I think the hardest part for all of us at the beginning (okay, well, all day) was trying to figure out what to carve. It’s hard to be very precise on the linoleum, so you’re trying to think of something that would be easy to carve but not boring at the same time. The basic method is to draw your design on tracing paper, flip the tracing paper over onto the linoleum block, and rub the back of the tracing paper so the pencil lines transfer (backwards) onto the linoleum. We then floundered a bit with whether we were carving the positive or negative image, too.

The blocks are super hard, so you need a lot of pressure to carve out the designs. I was busy telling them about how my mom had warned me to be super careful while carving, because the carving tools are reeeeally sharp, and maybe she thought we should wear gloves on her left hand… and that’s right about when my right hand slipped and I jabbed the damn carving tool right into my left pointer finger. And my water was still off. And it was bleeding. And my mom TOLD ME SO.

We all laughed heartily about that for a while, or I pretended to laugh heartily to disguise how much my hands were shaking, and how afraid I was to actually look at the wound, and Pookie and Schnookie looked at me shifty-eyed and asked if we needed to go get me stitches. Then they made me eat cookies. It turned out to be not too bad, other than the holy crap that hurts factor, and the I can’t believe I stabbed myself during crafts factor. But my dad had put together a pretty serious first aid kit when I moved into my first apartment, so I had lots of bandaging materials.

At this point we had just started printing with our first blocks, and were pretty excited about the results. I, naturally, stuck with super boring stripes, but Pookie carved a masterful strawberry, and Schnookie made a spool of thread which was intense. And the prints? Especially on my array of colored paper? Are SO cool!

We did that for a while and then broke for the almost-as-important trip to Pete and Elda’s portion of the day. I also really, really needed to use the bathroom (still no water) and was concerned about not having really washed my wound yet. So we did all of that, and ate a surprisingly large amount of pizza and drank a bunch of beer (to fuel the crafts). And I thought, as I do every time I am there, that I need to set up some sort of rotation so that I can get myself to Pete and Elda’s on a more frequent basis.

We then went back to my apartment and started carving new blocks, trying to be more creative or correct the mistakes that we made the first time around. (Or, you know, not stab oneself in the process). We also had some rubbery looking blocks (they looked and smelled like gigantic art erasers) that we used the second time around, and these were much easier to carve but seem to be a little more flimsy. So I think the idea is that you use the hard gray blocks if you want to keep the block and reuse it again and again, while you use the easier to carve blocks for more intricate designs that you don’t need to keep? (Going back to the gray blocks after the ez-carve ones was IMPOSSIBLE.)

So we had a day of crafts, pizza, beer, and hilarity. And we made some really cool cards in the process. I think next time I carve linoleum, I will think a little more in advance about what I want to make in the end (which will, let’s face it, be stripes because I both cannot draw and am unoriginal). But really, this was just an awesome time all around. (And I didn’t need stitches.)

Week Seven: Tetris Cross Stitch

Posted on February 14, 2011 by elizabeth

I haven’t cross stitched anything since Christmas 2009, when I finally finished the third Elizabethan knot garden for my mom. It’s a nice craft when you want a quick return (or, the mostly simple designs I tend towards are), but it’s definitely something that falls in and out of favor.

I wasn’t really planning to do anything special for Valentine’s Day this year; I have made cards for Dan for the previous two years (2010 and 2009) and made him a (rather awesome) cross stitch that first year, too.

But then I saw the pattern for a “You Complete Me” tetris cross stitch on the Craft: blog a few months ago, and knew I had to make it. It hits that nerdy-crafty vibe I like so much, and the sentiment? Well that is perfect, too.

And he loved it. And I love it. So it’s perfect.

Week Six: More Hats

Posted on February 11, 2011 by elizabeth

So I’m still making hats. I suggested that Dan might want me to make him one (because he doesn’t own a hat and while he didn’t seem to care, I had to point out that all those days he’s had to shovel? It would probably be better if he had a hat). I tried to convince Dan that an all-black hat would be supremely boring and unfun, but he never wavered: he wanted a black hat. No stripes, no colors, just black. A hat.

Okay, buddy, then that’s what you’ll get.

Meanwhile, my brother saw Lindsey’s hat and requested one for himself. But he wanted stripes. In gray and blue. I was all set to evenly distribute the stripes, but it turned out that he really, really wanted random stripes. (Just to make my orderly brain suffer, I think.)

Dan’s hat turned out too big once he tried it on, so when I made John’s hat, I made it match. And John’s was too small. I took this picture before I added two more gray rows to John’s hat.

Oh, and I almost forgot my favorite part of this week’s crafty endeavor. When Dan saw John’s striped hat on Superbowl Sunday, he looked at me and said sheepishly, “So if I ask you something, will you promise not to be mad?” “Of course,” I replied. “I think I want my hat to have stripes.” “You mean ‘You were right, Elizabeth, stripes ARE the best!’?” “Yes. Would you make me a hat with stripes?”

So I’m making Dan a new hat, this time with stripes. He even let me suggest a foresty green for his stripes. And black, because we wouldn’t want to get crazy or anything.