Thursday, February 28, 2008

i want one!

a klaus pierre that is! my OWN private action hero (in training)! poor thing no american babes want to love him! i don't know why. not only does he have a BIG ol' boom box BUT he has some wicked cool BABY BLUE SHOES too


(hat tip to boing boing

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

update on the music video that's done all with knitting

(it's the posting below this one) someone asked me about it plus i wanted to know too
All-Knitted Animated Music Video

700 frames were knitted for this. shoot! the group is called tricot machine (tricot=knitting dans francais). lysanne latulippe created the panels.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

one of THE coolest things i've seen

dans francais mon dieu




(hat tip sweet little domestic life by vegan knitter

pictures i took



from the fourth floor (where i sit) at work (the other week). i liked the cracks


vegan (and low fat) okonomiyaki


i was looking up japanese crafts yesterday and somehow or another, i came across a recipe for a pancake/pizza called okonomiyaki. it is usually cooked with seafood such as tiny shrimp and octopus as well as pork. those of course are a NO NO in my book. i simply used vegetables i had on hand as well as whole grain flours. it came out KICK ASS i must say!

1 ½ c flour (i used a combo of whole wheat and buckwheat!)
3/4 c water
1 vegetable bullion cube dissolved in ½ boiling water
2 t egg replacer dissolved in ¼ c hot water (beat with fork or whisk until frothy)
1 c chopped broccoli (if frozen par boil or microwave. if fresh, par boil till tender)
1/2 c grated carrots
1 c grated potato (i used a mixture of tiny ‘heirloom’ spuds of all colors. red, purple, yellow, white…. WITH the skins on)
grated onion (to taste)
(plus you can grate whatever else you have on hand. summer squash, sweet potatoes, winter squash. if you use something you’re not going to grate, like cauliflower, par boil it)
sea salt and pepper to taste

mix flour and water till blended. add the additional water with bouillon, egg replacer and the other vegetables. mix well and let sit 5 or 10 minutes. heat a non-stick skillet on high heat (you may spray it with non-stick spray or put in a bit of olive oil or the oil of your choice, to coat bottom), turn down to med or med-low and pour in the batter. swirl or arrange with the back of a large spoon, so the mixture gets evenly distributed. cover with foil or a plate large enough to fit over the skillet. cook until the bottom browns BUT doesn’t burn. the edges will be cooked, but the top will still be raw. carefully, slide the okonomiyaki out onto a plate so raw side is up. put the skillet over the top and flip the okonomiyaki so the raw side is down on the cooking surface. cook another 5 to10 minutes until that side browns. i don't see why you couldn't cook this in the oven if that's the route you wanted to take (of course your skillet should be oven proof). cut in wedges to serve.

note: you can serve with a mayo (vegan) mixed with a bit of soy sauce/tamari and hoisin sauce

(my lunch for work today: guacamole, sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes with balsamic dressing, okonomiyaki, apple, orange)

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Sunday, February 10, 2008

what did i do ALL day yesterday?



i wound yarn into balls. i mean ALL day




i started with 1050 yards of BEAUTIFUL handpainted tencel i got a while ago from mystical creation yarns (they MAY have gone out of business. their etsy store closed and the links to ebay and their other stone on their blog do not work). that 'yarn' was as thick as thread. as i said it's beautiful BUT IT'S SO DAMN THIN, it took forever to wind.


i had already wound the lace weight malabrigo in the color jaen. it's merino and so soooooooooooooft and lovely.


the two verigated non wound balls in the middle are koigu fingering weight painters palette premium merino (kpppm) at 175 yards. the dark non wound hank on the right is claudia hand painted fingering merino wool (peace love comfort and joy) at 175 yards. the hank on the left is;
atacama alpaca distributed by knitting fever at 110-120 yards
what am i going to make? i believe i am going to make a scarf that will remind me of the sea.
the point of this posting is; I NEED A BALL WINDER AND A SWIFT IMMEDIATELy

Friday, February 8, 2008

my modular squares



i think i'm going to make a multi-colored modular jacket (we'll see). i'm not a big fan of weaving in ends. i'm not a big fan of sewing. there's an AWFUL LOT of both if i plan on doing a jacket


made with malabrigo yarn

crispy tofu, spuds and broccoli



you can make this fat free by eliminating the olive oil all together (however, 2 teaspoons give or take really is NOT that much oil)


4 Yukon Gold potatoes cubed
1 Block extra firm tofu (which has been frozen for a week or two, then defrosted), cubed
Frozen or fresh broccoli (chopped)
½ Large onion chopped
Cumin to taste
Sea salt to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste (hot)
Black pepper to taste
Non-stick cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)
(I didn’t have any but baby peas would be wonderful in this dish)

Par boil potatoes for 10 minutes. During the last couple of minutes put broccoli in to par boil as well. Drain, reserving ½ of a cup of the cooking water. Mix all ingredients together (use more water if you do not use the olive oil) and put in a baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring vegetables around once or twice. After they are done to your taste, broil for 2 minutes (give or take), stir to prevent burning and broil another couple of minutes or so (you may have to do this a few times to get the level of crispness YOU want

from wonderland




This was linked-to in a comment in the previous post, but in case babies don't interest you - and because it's so bloody AWESOME - here he is in his full glory: a hand-knitted Sackboy, from Little Big Planet. ...........

(isn't that one of THE cutest thaings???)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

what a brilliant idea!




i saw it on oiyi's blog and she got the pattern from








it's a magnetic katamari! it can hold paperclips, or needles or WHATEVER. the blue/green one is oiyi's the orange/light green is from amy